We try Burger King’s Angus beef & salmon Kakiage burgers & new Kimchi Pie

Burger King first launched its Kakiage burgers in 2021.

For the uninitiated, kakiage is a type of tempura consisting of deep fried shredded vegetables. In this case, the kakiage has been converted into patty form and incorporated into burgers.

The Kakiage burgers are now making a return to stores, along with a fresh line of sides, which includes a spicy new Kimchi Pie.

If you’re craving a fusion of both Japanese and Korean cuisine, but don’t want to dig too deep into your pockets, Burger King’s new items provide you the best of both worlds.

Some of us at Mothership got to try them out. Here’s what we received.

• Ultimate Kakiage Angus Beef
• Ultimate Kakiage Salmon
• Honey Soy Drumlets Shake
• Honey Soy Hashbrowns Shake
• Bento Box (nine-piece nuggets, fried kakiage patty, onion rings, honey soy sauce and BBQ sauce)
• Kimchi Pie

Ultimate Kakiage Angus Beef

My colleague Michelle got the honour of trying both burgers first.

She described the beef burger as “very smoky”. Although she found the patty slightly dry, she noted that the patty itself was thicker as compared to other fast food outlets.

Michelle’s 1 bite 5 words: Smoky burger with sweet aftertaste

Of course for a well-rounded review, two other colleagues tried the burgers as well.

Another colleague, Mandy, shared: “It’s not bad because I don’t usually get kakiage in burgers”.

She added that the fried tempura actually “complements the beef quite well because of the textural differences”.

In fact she liked it enough that this was her summary of the item.

Mandy’s 1 bite 5 words: Time to go burger king?

Meanwhile, the third colleague who tried the burger, Drew, gave a pretty succinct review on the balance of textures and tastes.

Drew’s 1 bite 5 words: Good crispy and beefy balance

On to the second burger.

Ultimate Kakiage Salmon

Overall, Mandy and Drew preferred the beef version, finding it to be more flavourful and with textures that were more complementary to each other.

Michelle however, likes the salmon burger as much as the beef one. The fish fillet, she found, was on the saltier side, but the sweet sauce slathered on the patty “evens it out”.

She confesses that as seafood lovers, her parents would love the salmon burger as well. Additionally, Burger King’s previous Double Ultimate Salmon Burger had a similar salmon patty, which she and her family loved.

Fans of that burger are sure to like the new salmon Kakiage one, Michelle said.

“Definitely I can see [the salmon Kakiage burger] being a strong favourite at my house.”

Michelle’s 1 bite 5 words: Would buy for my family

Final thoughts on Kakiage

Michelle left the tasting session a fan of Kakiage.

She described the fried chunk of veggies as pretty “loaded”, and added that the caramelised onions in the Kakiage lends a hint of sweetness.

A surprising outcome considering she’s a self professed vegetable-hater.

“Usually if my veggie drops out [of my burger] I won’t pick it up. But for this, if the Kakiage drops out, I will pick it up and eat it.”

Her only gripe is that the Kakiage loses some of its crispyness when the burger is ordered for takeaway.

Meanwhile, this was Drew’s first time trying Kakiage, and he found it a nice change from the staple vegetables of lettuce and tomatoes.

“Would I want it all the time? Probably not. But it’s pretty good.”

Kimchi Pie

The other exciting item on the menu is the Kimchi Pie, which drew some mixed reactions from colleagues.

The pie’s outer crust might fool you into thinking this is a dessert, but this is probably better as a side on its own.

“I’m a bit confused” — was Michelle after taking a bite of the pie. For her, the kimchi tasted slightly raw, which she found a weird contrast with the pie crust.

Michelle’s 1 bite 5 words: It’s not meant to be

Adele, on the other hand, really liked this new item.

“I like the contrast. I find the kimchi quite sweet.”

Adele’s 1 bite 5 words: Surprisingly, they go well together

If you’re not feeling up to eating a whole burger, but still want to try the Kakiage, you can get Burger King’s Bento Box which comes with a plethora of sides.

The Bento Box costs S$7.90, while the Ultimate Kakiage Angus Beef Burger and Ultimate Kakiage Salmon Burger cost S$9.40 ala carte.

A value meal with the burgers will cost S$10.90, while those who are feeling more peckish can upsize the meal for an additional S$0.80.

On the other hand, the Honey Soy Drumlets and Hashbrowns Shake cost S$5.95 and S$3.90 respectively.

Each comes in a plastic cup which you can drizzle the Honey Soy sauce into and rattle the cup around to mix its contents.

Meanwhile, the Kimchi Pie will set you back by S$2.90.

This sponsored article by Burger King made the author hungry.

Top photo by Ashley Tan